It’s been a while since last we reported on any movement regarding Scott Glosserman’s sequel to the cult hit Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, but things are officially looking a bit sunnier for Leslie’s return. Read on for the details.

From the Press ReleaseFans of the 2006 horror hit Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon have united on Facebook to pre-order merchandise totaling $15,000, so far, for the making of the next Mask installment, titled Before the Mask: The Return of Leslie Vernon. In June 2011 Glen Echo Entertainment and Scott Glosserman, director of Behind the Mask, set a goal to co-finance the film through crowd funding on Facebook, requesting the help of Leslie Vernon’s loyal fans. With the Before the Mask campaign reaching a $15,000 milestone, it has triggered an investor group that has agreed to now match all cash raised by community funds up to half a million dollars. This new partnership brings filmmakers and fans $30,000 closer to the production of Before the Mask.

The Before the Mask Facebook campaign grants Mask fans the opportunity to pre-order limited edition DVDs, Blu-rays, merchandise, and experience packages ranging in price from $25 to $7,500 with all of the money raised through pre-orders to serve as funding for the film. Among the pre-order items is a Supporter’s Edition version of the film in DVD and Blu-ray formats as well as the unique opportunity for a select number of fans to be killed in the movie. Once the film is completed, the original print will be diced up, and each Supporter’s Edition DVD, Blu-ray, and poster will include its own unique frame cut from the print. These unique collector’s items will come with stamps serializing their authenticity and their film frame’s sequence number.

In 2006 director Scott Glosserman received critical acclaim for his horror mockumentary Behind the Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon. In Behind the Mask a fictional documentary crew is given access to Leslie Vernon’s life as he trains to join the ranks of great slasher villains and plans his reign of terror over the sleepy town of Glen Echo, while also deconstructing the conventions and archetypes of the horror genre for them. The film had a limited release in theaters but received huge success with film critics and the horror community through appearances at film and horror festivals. Before the Mask will pick up where Behind the Mask left off with Vernon disappointed that his fame did not catch on but ready to get back to work. With Before the Mask, Glosserman seeks to create a spreemake, or a mash-up of a sequel, prequel, and remake, that will deconstruct and comment on the archetypes of prequels, sequels, and remakes. The original team of filmmakers and actors, including all-stars Nathan Baesel (Leslie Vernon), Angela Goethals (Taylor Gentry), and Robert Englund (Doc Holleran), are anxious for the second Leslie Vernon installment.